The Ombudsman received a complaint that a Member (“the Member”) of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council (“the Council”) had breached the Code of Conduct (“the Code”). The Complainant, who worked for the Council alleged that, after he had made a complaint about the way the Member (in her capacity as a School Governor), had investigated an incident at his child’s school, she made a retaliatory complaint against him to the Head of his Department in the Council. The Council’s HR department subsequently suspended him from work while they investigated. The Complainant felt this was a deliberate attempt to cause him a disadvantage in his place of work, and thus a breach of the Code, specifically sections 6(1)(a) and 7(a).
The investigation found that it was entirely reasonable for Members to raise concerns about staff. There were some inconsistencies in the Member’s account in relation to the nature of her concerns about the Complainant, the timing and the channel she chose to pursue them, as well as what she understood, and intended, the potential consequences to be. However, there was not sufficient direct or compelling evidence that the sole or primary reason for raising her concerns was to cause the Complainant a disadvantage, and, therefore, no evidence that she breached the Code.